South African National Survey of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer (IP & TT) survey

Technology transfer (TT) is the process of translating ideas into products, processes and services. More specifically, in a South African institutional context, framed within the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act (IPR Act), TT involves the identification, protection and putting into use (also referred to as commercialisation) of promising technology concepts emanating from publicly financed research activities, for the benefit of society.This resonates with South Africa’s policy intent to improve the regulatory environment for the identification and utilisation of intellectual property (IP), which aims to increase the deployment of research results for economic impact as well as improving the living standards of its citizens.The baseline South African National Survey of IP and TT at Publicly Funded Research Institutions, which covered the period 2008 – 2014, established a number of indicators to track overall activity in IP management and TT. This Survey, covering the period 2014 – 2018, builds and expands on the foundation set by the baseline survey. This Survey was conducted with all “institutions” as defined in the IPR Act – 26 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and 11 Schedule 1 institutions or Science Councils (SCs). All 37 institutions participated in the Survey. Overall, this Survey shows encouraging trends in a range of indicators pertaining to IP creation, TT activities and the economic impact created as a result of these.

This survey establishes baseline indicators required to track overall activity in Intellectual Property (IP) management and Technology Transfer (TT) at publiclyfunded research institutions in South Africa.  The study period starts in 2008, the year when the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act (IPR Act) was passed, and runs to 20141. The survey targeted all institutions as defined in the IPR Act, which are the 23 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the 10 Schedule 1 institutions or Science Councils (SCs). In many cases, the TT functions (TTFs) at these institutions were established as a direct response to the requirements of the IPR Act. However, it is important to note that, even before the landmark legislation was introduced, some institutions had already led the way and set up TTFs. The survey instrument was initially based on a similar survey in the United States of America (USA), which was undertaken by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). An oversight committee consisting of members from SARIMA, NIPMO, DST and CeSTII was established to assist with adaptation of the instrument to the South African context. This process also involved piloting the instrument with several institutions that are at various stages of TTFmaturity. Steps were taken – workshops and email communication – to sensitise the TT community prior to the survey taking place, and to promote participation by institutions. However, due to the level of maturity of TTFs at many of the institutions surveyed, there areindicators that could not yet be meaningfully reported. It is hoped that future surveys will see a broadening of the dataset and indicators reported.